Palestinian Terrorists Plan Israeli Independence Day Attack

Palestinian terror groups are planning a wide-scale attack on Israel's 60th Independence Day, the chief of Israel's military intelligence is warning.

Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the cabinet on Tuesday that groups are planning a wide-scale attack on Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's independence day, which falls on May 14 and commemorates the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Yadlin said his Military Intelligence organization had detected preparations among terrorist groups to combine forces and carry out an ambitious attack, as well as to breach the border between Gaza and Israel, much in the same way Hamas had breached the Rafah border with Egypt several months ago.

Yadlin explained the attack would be another attempt by Hamas to remove the closure on the Gaza Strip, and that the fear that the next attempt might be directed at the Israeli border stems from the recently reinvigorated motivation by the Egyptians to deter Hamas from trying to carry out another border breach on Rafah, the Post reported.

The Associated Press reported that Egyptian forces beefed up their presence near Rafah last Friday following a mass demonstration organized by Hamas near the point where the border was breached. An Egyptian official told the AP that the decision to increase presence at the border was meant to prevent any Palestinian activity aimed towards infiltrating Egyptian territory.

Hamas has issued its own warning, with top official Mahmoud Zahar saying that if crossings from the Gaza Strip are not open, "all options will remain" in the group's hands.

Israel has closed the borders between Israel and the Gaza strip and between the Gaza strip and Egypt because of terrorist rocket attacks launched in Israel from Gaza.